{"id":4583,"date":"2019-11-20T03:12:31","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T03:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-wordsvocabulary\/different-ways-to-talk-about-peoples-intelligence-in-chinese-2\/"},"modified":"2019-11-20T03:12:31","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T03:12:31","slug":"different-ways-to-talk-about-peoples-intelligence-in-chinese-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/vi\/different-ways-to-talk-about-peoples-intelligence-in-chinese-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Different ways to talk about people\u2019s intelligence in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"
You probably already know one high frequency word to express “smart” in Chinese – \u806a\u660e c\u014dngming. I agree that if you need to learn at least one word to say “smart” in Chinese, you should learn that one. It can be used on all ages or genders of people, and usually there’s a “\u5f88 h\u011bn” to be added to the mix if used in a compliment:<\/p>\n

\u5f88\u806a\u660e h\u011bn c\u014dngming – very smart
Different ways to talk a<\/em>bout people’s intelligence in Chinese
However, that compliment, though a “safe” ex<\/em>pression, is actually too vast in its definition. Usually if you tell someone that one of your colleagues is \u5f88\u806a\u660e h\u011bn c\u014dngming without further explanation, people are likely to be left wo<\/em>ndered a<\/em>bout which kind of “smart” your colleague actually is? The answer could be unlimited, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

Today I’ll show you a few different ways to describe “smart people”. And hopefully they can help you to be slightly “smarter” on your mandarin learning. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Talking a<\/em>bout “smart” or not, there are two words you really need to know to give a clear classification on which type of “smart” you’re implying. A person with high IQ can be described as \u667a\u5546\u9ad8 zhìsh\u0101ng g\u0101o. While a person with high EQ are usually called \u60c5\u5546\u9ad8 qíngsh\u0101ng g\u0101o. For example,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    t\u0101 shì gè qíngsh\u0101ng h\u011bn g\u0101o de rén!<\/p>\n

    \u4ed6\u662f\u4e2a\u60c5\u5546\u5f88\u9ad8\u7684\u4eba!<\/p>\n

    He’s got high emotio<\/em>nal quotient.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

If you want to describe a person that is shrewd and with calculating mind, you can use “\u7cbe\u660e j\u012bngmíng“. “\u7cbe\u660e j\u012bngmíng” is not like the above-mentio<\/em>ned ones. It can be used either in a positive way or a negative way. It all depends on the co<\/em>ntext in which it appears. The following example demo<\/em>nstrates the usage of “\u7cbe\u660e j\u012bngmíng” in a negative way:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    tàiguò j\u012bngmíng de rén w\u01cengw\u01ceng chéng bùli\u01ceo dàshì\u3002<\/p>\n

    \u592a\u8fc7\u7cbe\u660e\u7684\u4eba\u5f80\u5f80\u6210\u4e0d\u4e86\u5927\u4e8b\u3002<\/p>\n

    The one with a calculating mind might not be capable of achieving big feat.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

For people that is wise and open-minded, you can also use \u667a\u6167 zhìhuì and \u5f00\u660e k\u0101imíng to say a<\/em>bout them. \u667a\u6167 zhìhuì is mostly used as a noun (wisdom). When it is used as an adjective, it means “wise”. Not quite the same as “smart”.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, under some circumstances, Chinese like to use \u806a\u660e c\u014dngming as \u5c0f\u667a\u6167 xi\u01ceo zhìhuì or \u5c0f\u806a\u660e xi\u01ceoc\u014dngming;<\/p>\n

\u667a\u6167 zhìhuì or \u5f00\u660e k\u0101imíng as \u5927\u667a\u6167 dàzhìhuì or \u5927\u806a\u660e dà c\u014dngming.<\/p>\n

In that comparison, \u5c0f\u667a\u6167 xi\u01ceo zhìhuì or \u5c0f\u806a\u660e xi\u01ceoc\u014dngming are used with a negative tone, meaning “clever in trivial matters” or “sharp but petty-minded”.<\/p>\n

On the contrary,\u5927\u667a\u6167 dàzhìhuì or \u5927\u806a\u660e dà c\u014dngming are great wisdom and knowledge, which are definitely positive.<\/p>\n

For example,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    w\u01d2men x\u016byào de bùshì shu\u01cexi\u01ceoc\u014dngming de rén, érshì y\u01d2u dàzhìhuì de rén.<\/p>\n

    \u6211\u4eec\u9700\u8981\u7684\u4e0d\u662f\u800d\u5c0f\u806a\u660e\u7684\u4eba, \u800c\u662f\u6709\u5927\u667a\u6167\u7684\u4eba.<\/p>\n

    Being clever in trivial matters is not the talent we want, we’re in need for great wisdom.<\/p>\n

    
<\/div>\n